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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Had they learned from our stealthy movements last night? The enemy had stationed sentries between their camps, meticulously guarding their encirclement.
They showed no signs of falling asleep, even as the moon set and dawn approached.
Honestly, I was a little worried. What if the element of surprise was lost?
But the enemy didn’t disappoint.
“Most of the sentries are dozing off.”
Just before sunrise, as the first rays of light peeked over the horizon, they started falling asleep one by one.
Relieved that they had made it through the night, they had let their guard down, assuming that we wouldn’t be able to move unseen during the day.
I glanced back to see the knights lined up before the main gate, fully armed.
A mix of Holy Knights and Imperial Knights.
They were all staring intently at Pelaine, who stood at the front.
“It’s time to deploy.”
“Prepare for deployment.”
Pelaine’s voice, low and steady, echoed through the ranks as she received my report.
The knights donned their helmets, the sound of clanging metal the only sound that broke the silence.
They waited patiently for Pelaine’s next order.
“Hurry up! We’re deploying!”
I ran towards Trie, who was waving frantically. I grabbed her strong hand and climbed onto her horse.
Sadly, I didn’t know how to ride…
I would have to learn horseback riding soon.
I looked to the side to see Ainz mounted on a horse with Taylor, the Vice-Commander of the Holy Knights.
It was hard to believe, but he was the key to this battle.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Ainz would be the one to start and end this battle.
“….”
I looked up at the watchtower and saw Erica, her eyes wide with focus.
She must have spent the entire night drawing and checking the rune.
It was a massive rune, so it would take a while to complete.
Of course, she was the only one here who could draw such a complex rune without making a mistake, so I had no choice but to burden her with the task.
Hang in there.
I’ll let you sleep all day once you’re done.
“You’ve all endured well. Now it’s time to fulfill our duty to the fallen. We fight for our comrades.”
“….”
“Don’t be afraid. I’m with you.”
“….”
“Open the main gate.”
Rumble…
The soldiers pushed against the gate, and the bolts, disengaged, gave way. The gate swung open.
The sun, rising above the horizon, bathed the land in a bright light.
Some were still asleep, caught off guard.
Others, blinded by the sunlight, shielded their eyes with their hands.
They were all unprepared.
We quickly exited the narrow gate and formed a ten-row assault formation.
“Charge!”
“Waaaaaaaa!!!”
Pelaine’s firm order.
A roar erupted from the ranks, and the formation surged forward.
Our target was the enemy camp directly in front of us.
It resembled a refugee camp, with dozens of tents scattered haphazardly.
Rumble…
“Uwaaaaa!”
We were a small force, less than forty knights, but it was enough to shake the ground and kick up a cloud of dust.
Coupled with our battle cries, the enemy couldn’t have missed our approach.
But it was too late.
The beastmen, peeking out of their tents, turned pale with fear.
“Don’t stop! Break through!”
“Waaaa!”
The first clash was anticlimactic.
A few spearmen tried to resist, but they quickly dropped their spears and ran.
Most were trampled to death before they could take a few steps.
And then the second clash.
“Gah! What is this?!”
“Shit! Why is there a cavalry unit here?”
We crashed into the camp, our spears piercing the beastmen who were fleeing in their underwear.
We charged through the camp, collapsing tents and chasing down the fleeing beastmen.
We stabbed them with our spears, and when our spears broke, we drew our swords and slashed at them.
The camp was filled with screams, descending into chaos.
Most of them fled towards the forest, unarmed.
It would be a waste of time to pursue them.
“Split!”
Pelaine’s commanding voice echoed through the ranks.
The assault formation, perfectly maintained until that point, split in half.
The Holy Knights and I went to the right.
The Imperial Knights went to the left.
They executed the maneuver flawlessly, separating the formation without a single collision or hesitation.
“Uh… They’re coming this way!”
“…”
It was time to crush the remaining camps.
The element of surprise was gone.
But we had instilled fear in them.
They had witnessed the complete annihilation of a camp with hundreds of soldiers, and a sense of dread had taken root in their hearts.
“D-damn it! Run away!”
“This is bullshit!”
And fear was contagious.
As one dropped their spear, others followed suit, discarding their weapons and fleeing.
We were a small force, less than twenty knights, but the enemy had already lost their will to fight.
“Break through!”
Another clash.
We charged through fences and barricades, the knights cutting down every beastman in sight.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Pelaine, who was leading the charge.
She was slashing at the enemy, her body leaning to the sides as she maintained her horse’s forward momentum.
Her cold helmet betrayed no emotion.
What was she thinking, as she slaughtered her own kind?
“Schlus! On the left!”
“…!”
I didn’t have time to dwell on her emotions.
We had to reduce the enemy’s numbers as much as possible.
I saw the beastman Trie had pointed out, trying to escape to our left.
He was wearing chainmail, his face contorted with fear.
I drew my greatsword with my left hand and, without hesitation—
Swoosh!
“Ugh!”
…beheaded him.
There was no stopping now.
I slashed and slashed.
We continued to charge, and eventually encountered the Imperial Knights.
We had circled around the right half of the fortress, and they had circled around the left half, clearing out the enemy forces.
I looked back to see a trail of blood in our wake.
Most of the enemy forces that had been surrounding the fortress were fleeing in disarray, their chain of command broken.
We had annihilated the enemy’s encirclement.
“Regroup!”
But we didn’t have time to celebrate.
We had defeated an enemy force ten times our size, but it wasn’t a decisive victory.
At Pelaine’s signal, the Imperial Knights approached us and formed ranks.
We were once again a single unit, marching towards the main gate of the fortress.
“Holy…”
“Haa…”
Gasps and sighs escaped our lips.
It was a breathtaking sight.
A sea of tiny dots on the ridge in the distance.
They were all enemy soldiers.
Heavily armored cavalry.
Even I couldn’t help but gulp, overwhelmed by the grand spectacle.
While we were busy wiping out the infantry camps, the enemy cavalry from the surrounding castles had gathered on the ridge.
“Huu…”
My arms were trembling.
How was Ainz feeling?
I glanced at him to see—
“Th-th-th… Are we really… going to fight… th-that?”
“…”
His face was pale with fear.
This was bad.
Ainz, of all people, couldn’t afford to be scared.
I had used up all my ‘Selection and Concentration’ charges at midnight, so I only had 1,000 mana left for the day.
Even with Vafe, I didn’t know how long I could last against that many cavalrymen.
We had to rely on Ainz.
I approached him and placed my hand on his shoulder.
“Gah?!”
“Don’t be nervous. You can do it.”
“Ah… Schlus… Are you sure… I have to do this?”
“Yes. You’re the one who will lead us to victory. There’s no one else.”
“I… I…”
Ainz started muttering to himself, his head lowered.
Uh oh. Was he malfunctioning?
This was bad.
If he couldn’t fight, we would have to retreat back to the fortress.
Facing that insane army without Ainz was a guaranteed annihilation.
“So… I’m the main character of this battle!”
“Uh…”
“This is my chance to shine! This is what I’ve been waiting for, damn it!”
“…”
It seemed like there was no need to worry.
“The enemy is regrouping!”
The enemy had gathered their scattered cavalry and were forming an assault formation.
They had spread out their ranks to intimidate us with their numbers.
But even after forming five, six layers deep, their formation was still twice as wide as ours.
They numbered around a thousand…
They had clearly mobilized all their available cavalry.
“Charge.”
Pelaine’s voice was calm and steady.
Her unwavering tone gave me a sense of reassurance, and our assault formation slowly started to advance.
The enemy had also finished their preparations and were charging towards us.
We were both at full speed, heading towards each other.
It was a game of chicken, with no intention of stopping, only destruction awaiting us.
“…!”
The enemy formation started to shift.
Their flanks spread out, attempting to surround us.
I had seen this before.
The Crane Wing Formation.
They were using their numerical advantage to try and envelop us.
We had come too far.
We couldn’t escape, even if we slowed down.
“For the Empire!”
“For the Empire!!!”
Spears and swords thrust towards us from all directions.
But the knights, unfazed, roared their battle cries.
Three seconds until impact.
This was the beginning of the counterattack.
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